How important is is to have a caravan with an ensuite?

Having a caravan with an ensuite is certainly handy but of course it is more expensive. So is it worth it? Would you rather save the money and travel longer? We asked our TAWKers and they gave their thoughts and experiences here.....

The following are answers and thoughts from other TAWKers (names omitted to protect privacy) to help you.....

We
didn't have one. We don't regret it one bit but, sometimes I do wish for
the toilet. The shower is not important enough for us. Small bucket of
water works a treat and baby wipes.

We
have a shower setup with our camper equivalent to an external shower so
I'm thinking not bothering with a caravan with an ensuite as we won't be missing
what we never had. Couldn't live without our porta
potty though, especially with young kids, but I've seen vans that store these
in a cupboard under the bed. I'm sure if we got an ensuite van we would
love it, but I figure we won't miss, what we have never had.

We
have a van and only a porta potty. I took a big tub and sat it inside
the van for a good wash and for the kids. We have a wardrobe, which
has a cupboard below big enough for our toilet. Every night before bed
we drag it out. Very handy for the kids and us.

For
me a caravan with an ensuite was a must. It gives you
the freedom to camp anywhere. We also have grey water tank. There are
some amazing camp spots with no facilities so if fully self contained
can stay if not you can only day visit.

We don't have one and get by easily even while free camping. I had a big tub and
a pop up shower tent where I'd fill the tub and we would wash. You can always use a bucket or
toilets provided or go bush with shovel.

I've
done it both ways, first trip around oz no kids just a bucked and
battery operated pump shower in shower tent. This time I wanted a caravan with an
ensuite, so that I could just walk in and use it, stay clean getting out etc as you're up
off the ground and don't have to drag your stuff
to the amenities, tip toe getting dressed on the dirty floors. Also it
means hot running water in our van. Our old pop top had no hot water
system and that was a pain washing up. We survived and it was fine
showering with a few snakes, spiders and frogs along the way, ha ha but
if budget allows I'd get one.

A great way to recognise other family Also Traveling Australia with kids

We
don't and mostly free camp and go okay without one. We mostly just bathe
with a flannel, soap and warm water. Sometimes we would appreciate a
hot shower but its not essential. We have a shower whenever they are
available and relish the luxury of it!

Would
you live in a house without a shower and toilet? I couldn't imagine not
having our bathroom with us especially when free camping!

We
have a porta potty which I wouldn't go without. We've also got a
external shower in our camper, but find it uses too much water (we have a
100 litre tank), and we have to move on and fill up. I'd rather use a
bucket and be able to stay away for longer.

We have a caravan with an ensuite. However, we
wouldn't use much more water in our shower than we would in a bucket.
We have 6 people to get through, so we all stand in a bucket and just
quickly turn the shower on to get wet, then quickly back on to wash off
the soap. The bucket water is to make
sure feet are cleaned properly (kids get filthy!). To be honest, its
probably a glorified bucket shower!! But, we do it this way and we can
have a shower every second day for two weeks without running out of
water!

Our
van is our home, since we sold our house and everything in it. So for
us it was important to have some comforts as we're travelling
indefinitely. When we're free camping (which is most of the time) we
just get wet, soap the smelly bits and rinse off
and use about half a bucket of water each. We wash the kids every two
to three days in an inch of water in a washing up tub. The toilet is
great, especially with small kids.

We LOVE having a shower n toilet n bath with 5 kids under the age of 11!

How important is is to have a caravan with an ensuite?

We don't have a caravan with an ensuite, but carry a portaloo. We setup an ensuite
tent for stays of 3 days or more. You do learn to travel without one and
make use of public amenities etc, choose campsites with toilets when you
can. A caravan with an ensuite would be nice but really not necessary if you don't mind
improvising, so save your $$$ and live a little!

We could not do without ours. First thing in the morning, when the weather is bad or if it's really dark outside is when it's most useful.

It
depends how much free camping you want to do. We just spent three
weeks straight free camping in the mountains and wouldn't have been
without our shower and toilet. Just made everything so easy.

We
free camp mostly and have a solar shower. You can also buy an instant hot
water for about $300, hook it to a gas bottle and have hot bush showers
whenever you like. As for the toilet, grab a portaloo - cheaper!

Personally love my shower and loo, never use anything else happy to clean them for my little piece of privacy and cleanliness, but am sure you can manage without too.

When we go camping we
have a bucket with a toilet seat lid on it. We keep it in the shower pop up tent and when showering it just comes
out. We shower with a bucket a cup to pour water over yourself. Works a treat. A caravan with an ensuite would be handy, but certainly not essential.

Wifey
has found ours toilet and shower and god send. So easy with the kids,
even when on the move and in the middle of a town or big city. Make your
trip as easy as you can otherwise. It will not be fun and you will give
up before you wanted to finish.

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